The Honorable Mary Beth Bonaventura '76

The Advocate

Bonaventura (shown below with her son, Sunny) serves as director of child services for the State of Indiana.

"In life, you have to be open to new things and explore what might be a good fit. I always pray that the Lord lets me know how to follow."

When Governor Mike Pence called Judge Mary Beth
Bonaventura asking her to leave her job as senior judge
of the Lake Superior Court, Juvenile Division, to become
director of child services for the State of Indiana, she
initially declined. She loved her job. She declined the
second and third time, too. But, when the then governorelect
reached out to her again, Bonaventura took it as a
sign and decided that it was time for a new challenge.

So, after more than 30 years serving as a magistrate
and then judge in the juvenile courts of Lake County,
Bonaventura moved to Indianapolis to take on the
Department of Child Services (DCS), a department that
in 2013 alone received 156,192 phone calls to the child
abuse hotline and collected nearly one billion dollars
in child support. The mission for the department is both
daunting and immensely important: protect children from
child abuse and neglect, and work to ensure their
financial support.
Of course, Bonaventura has never been one to back down
from a challenge. At 26, she became one of the youngest
magistrates in the state, overseeing a juvenile court for
more than a decade. She has been appointed positions by
two different governors of two different political parties; the
first happened in 1993, when then Governor Evan Bayh,
a democrat, appointed her a judgeship in Lake County.
Nearly 20 years later, Bonaventura was appointed to her
current position, director of DCS, by Governor Mike Pence,
a republican. Her appointments by two different governors
of different political parties and her years of service on
the bench, speak to her dedication to children and others’
recognition of that dedication.

“The work we do in the juvenile court and in child services is so important. You have to put families back together when they fall apart,” said Bonaventura. “We have to make sure we stay true to our mission to protect children, and sometimes that means making the difficult decision to remove children from the home.”

While Bonaventura has spent her career protecting children,
in 1996, her mission became personal when an 11-year-old
boy walked into her courtroom as a runaway and needed
someone. His name, Sunny, matched his personality
perfectly, and it was love at first sight.
In the years to come, Sunny drastically changed
Bonaventura’s life. Having worked very long hours and
served on several boards outside of her work as a judge,
Sunny slowed down her life in the best way. She stopped
working every evening and spent her nights with her
husband, Keith Medved, and their adopted son, eating
dinner, working on homework, being a family.

When she speaks of him, you instantly understand what an
amazing young man he was and the incredible bond they
shared. Tragically, on November 16, 2012, at the age of 28,
Sunny passed away from complications of typhoid fever. But
his spirit lives on in Bonaventura and the important job she
does: working to ensure all children thrive in safe, caring,
supportive families and communities.

“When all is said and done, it’s about helping people,” said
Bonaventura. In fact, she’s made a career of it.

Bonaventura’s connection to Marian University remains
strong. Not only does she serve as a trustee, but this May,
she delivered the commencement address at the 77th
annual Commencement ceremony, where she received an
honorary doctor of arts and humane letters degree.